Changing HSBC Busines Direct to whom - advice

[Datalink]

I'm with Santander, very happy. Everything is instant, quick answers to my calls and easy to use online, and free as well for a year or so.

[Ticktock]

I don't really have a figure for you, as you might expect However, think about it this way: are you happy with HSBC other than the account charge? If so, what fraction of your daily rate is 5.5? The charge is immaterial. If you want to take a stand on principle, by all means, but don't expect that banking with Cater Allen or any other "free" bank is actually free or that the banks with the cheapest upfront fees are the best banks. The NHS is free at the point of use, but it isn't free You need to take a broader perspective.

On the bit about clients, I'm not sure I follow....

I agree, but would compare like for like.

What percentage of your monthly rate is £5.50.

[jamesbrown]

Hi James,

"with a bank charging an account maintenance fee that reflects the cost of maintaining the account."

Again I have an issue with this. How much does it really cost to maintain an account?
If it is highly active with lots of daily transactions then yes a maintenance cost would be merited. However, most accounts now are handled by the Clients, the end-users via the internet, therefore please explain where the costs lie. It is certainly not in running IT systems in the bank. IMHO it is just an excuse to charge more money from the customer which is used by the banks for monetary investment.

Thanks
BPCY

I don't really have a figure for you, as you might expect However, think about it this way: are you happy with HSBC other than the account charge? If so, what fraction of your daily rate is 5.5? The charge is immaterial. If you want to take a stand on principle, by all means, but don't expect that banking with Cater Allen or any other "free" bank is actually free or that the banks with the cheapest upfront fees are the best banks. The NHS is free at the point of use, but it isn't free You need to take a broader perspective.

On the bit about clients, I'm not sure I follow....

[d000hg]

BTW, they haven't started charging me monthly bank fees yet.

My first payment came out yesterday.

[Bpcy]

Sure. "Free banking" is really a myth though. A bank is a profit-driven enterprise, so it's really a question of "how" and "how much". I really have no problem with a bank charging an account maintenance fee that reflects the cost of maintaining the account. It's transparent and upfront, rather than being hidden in various other charges or sub-par rates. It's also questionable how long the "free banking" model might last, as several have changed to upfront account maintenance fees in recent years. That's where things are heading. If you want to make money from your balance, open an easy access savings account, which needn't be with HSBC. Again, I think the customer service with Cater Allen is pretty good, certainly better than average, but I'd rather minimise my interactions with customer service

Hi James,

"with a bank charging an account maintenance fee that reflects the cost of maintaining the account."

Again I have an issue with this. How much does it really cost to maintain an account?
If it is highly active with lots of daily transactions then yes a maintenance cost would be merited. However, most accounts now are handled by the Clients, the end-users via the internet, therefore please explain where the costs lie. It is certainly not in running IT systems in the bank. IMHO it is just an excuse to charge more money from the customer which is used by the banks for monetary investment.

Thanks
BPCY

[jamesbrown]

Hi James,

Thanks for replying.

I'm wanting to move because I don't believe that I should be paying for them to hold my Company money. They use it for investment and loans and should really be paying me interest to loan them as they would for any other creditors and loans.

Additionally, I have been unable to talk to my "Personal" Bank Manager to discuss why I am paying for this account as they don't work convenient times for me ie a Sat morning. This imposing of charges is outrageous for what work they do!

I remember having Flemings and they were very resonable.
I'm looking for something similar, i.e. as long as I am in credit then there are no charges incurred.

Thanks
BPCY

Sure. "Free banking" is really a myth though. A bank is a profit-driven enterprise, so it's really a question of "how" and "how much". I really have no problem with a bank charging an account maintenance fee that reflects the cost of maintaining the account. It's transparent and upfront, rather than being hidden in various other charges or sub-par rates. It's also questionable how long the "free banking" model might last, as several have changed to upfront account maintenance fees in recent years. That's where things are heading. If you want to make money from your balance, open an easy access savings account, which needn't be with HSBC. Again, I think the customer service with Cater Allen is pretty good, certainly better than average, but I'd rather minimise my interactions with customer service

[CheeseSlice]

+1 for HSBC

Telephone customer service is prompt and security features are good.

I made a large online purchase with my business HSBC CC last month. When I went to make payment it said 'unauthorised'. Just seconds later as I'm about to resubmit the payment details, I get a call from HSBC who ask a couple of security questions, and then ask me to confirm the purchase I'm' trying to make. They unblocked the payment and then the payment went straight through.

I'm glad to know they can do things like that with a business card, as you dont get all the same legal protections a personal card would.

BTW, they haven't started charging me monthly bank fees yet.

[d000hg]

I'm sticking with HSBC for now - the fee is negligible and their online banking is very good compared to others I have used.
I also have a (free) Santander business account which is pretty good, but I don't know that's still available to new customers.

As far as the "I shouldn't have to pay for an account" argument, that's silly. The market drives things, they are running a service and are entitled to charge a fee. Most/many pensions charge fees for instance as do other investment vehicles. Most credit cards used to charge, these days it's much less common. Business banking traditionally does charge.

You might note that HSBC will give you a business account which DOES accrue interest.

[Bpcy]

But is Cater Allen just a subsidery of Santander?

What are their rates/charges etc?

I did read a thread earlier on them but I was wondering if there were other alternatives available.

Thanks
BPCY

[Bpcy]

I have been looking at MoneySavingExpert which led me to this:

Business Bank Accounts | Find The Best Business Bank Account

but I'm not a startup so will only have the transferral rates for 3 months.

I'm looking for long term Free accounts as long as the Business is in Credit.

Thanks
BPCY

[malvolio]

Yep, agreed. HSBC does what is says in the tin, without fuss or bother or service failure. £66 a year for peace of mind is a no brainer IMVHO. In my case the war chest parked in the deposit account gets enough interest to offset it anyway. I haven't spoken to them for four years - a call from my new account manager as it happens - and I've only needed to call them once since I first set the account up in 1996, when I had a corrupt certificate failure; that was diagnosed and fixed by a lady in Singapore in less than 30 minutes

There's a thread on Cater Allen, if you look for it. Nowadays they aren't as good as many people claim. And they used to be Flemings...

[Bpcy]

Hi James,

Thanks for replying.

I'm wanting to move because I don't believe that I should be paying for them to hold my Company money. They use it for investment and loans and should really be paying me interest to loan them as they would for any other creditors and loans.

Additionally, I have been unable to talk to my "Personal" Bank Manager to discuss why I am paying for this account as they don't work convenient times for me ie a Sat morning. This imposing of charges is outrageous for what work they do!

I remember having Flemings and they were very resonable.
I'm looking for something similar, i.e. as long as I am in credit then there are no charges incurred.

Thanks
BPCY

[DirtyDog]

I moved from HSBC to Santander about 7 years ago. Been pretty pleased with it since then.

[jamesbrown]

Personally, for such a small amount, I'd stick with what you have. The general consensus is that HSBC are pretty good for business banking.

I'm with Cater Allen. They're "no frills" in terms of online functionality. They don't currently offer an implementation of faster payments, which is irritating, although I gather they're trying to improve that. In terms of working with international clients, they're also pretty weak, as you need to deal with at least one other intermediary, namely RBS (Cater Allen are not a clearing bank), and sometimes two (e.g. North America). I've had several payments go missing for periods of 1-3 weeks. Whenever RBS make a hash of something (which they frequently do), you'll be hit by that. On the positive side, they do have excellent customer service with UK based call centers. They answer quickly and the call center staff are generally pretty competent. For me, that isn't really enough, and I would actually consider switching to HSBC for the range of services they offer at a reasonable price.

Bottom line, I'd stick with what you have.

[Bpcy]

Hi Guys/Girls,

I am just getting around to changing my HSBC Business Direct account after they introduced a £5.50 monthly fee in Aug.
I first tried to have a review with my "Personal" Business Bank Manager but it was not so "Personal" as they were not available Fri or Sat only on a Wed Afternoon which was not suitable for me as I was away on-site.

Anyway I have been doing some research on this site as well as MoneySavingExpert and a general Google search for free Bank Accounts and have come across Cater Allen, MetroBank and Nationwide as potential candidates.

Unfortunately I do not live near London so MetroBank is out.
With Nationwide I can find a Business Savers Account but no Business Account.
Cater Allen I don't know much about. Are they a reliable company?

Basically I will have less the 10 transactions per month (Government and BACS transactions from Clients and payment to myself etc).
I would like to doing online banking but don't require a Credit Card but probably do require a Debit Card.

Has anyone found any other Business Bank Account that would suit my needs?

Thanks for your help
BPCY